Save it for Sunday | 6.3.18

It's your lucky day. Two weeks worth of Save it for Sunday for the price of one! We were having too much fun last weekend with company in town to bother with blogging. Every other week posts may become a summer trend given our lineup of visitors and planned traveling.

The Highlights

Brad finally came home from his field training exercise. You know, the one that was supposed to take him away from us for two nights but instead ended up being days shy of a full month. That's the one! Never have I ever been more relieved to hear the garage door open the night he got home. It was a marathon of a month in so many ways. I could go on forever, but here are the top three things I appreciate most about having him back again:

     1. His hugs.
     2. His optimism.
     3. Not having to clean the litter boxes and pick up dog poop from the yard.

Divide and conquer. Life is better with you, Dadford. 

Uncle Preston came to visit! Preston is a writer in NYC, has no kids, rocks a man bun, and is one of my favorite visitors to host. His creative lifestyle is hugely different from our military world, yet his presence in our home is always so effortless and enjoyable. Again and again, I am so impressed by his willingness to get down on the floor with the kids and dream up stories and adventures with them for hours on end. He is eager to help and very adamantly wanted to learn to buckle Eloise into her car seat and fold up and down the stroller on his own. He just takes the initiative to dive into the kids even though their sticky, stinky, messy world is so far from his own comfort zone. The Colorado Springs portion of the visit was spent grilling, swinging, and swimming in the backyard and playing board games until the wee hours. The boys built a platform for the grill to save space on the patio and took the kids for a long run so I could finally plant my flower boxes in blissful peace. My heroes! We did a mini getaway to Rocky Mountain National Park for some incredible hiking too. Our buns were burning after about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. We cherish any time we get with Preston and wish it could happen much more often than it does. In the words of Eloise after Preston dove into Emerald Lake, still partially iced over, "Uncle Preston, you're wild!" Wild in the best uncle way. Thanks for a great visit, Preston! Can't wait for you to choose my title idea for your book.

Lots of big Rantz family happenings the past two weeks. On May 25th my sister Whitney got engaged! Her fiance is a devoted Spartan and a cat guy, so obviously they're a perfect match. The scream to end all screams came spilling out when she flashed her beautiful ring at me via FaceTime. I am over the moon excited to have a new brother-in-law and for my kids to have another uncle to love. It is looking like their big day will fall right around the same time as Brad's return home from his next deployment, and I am already giddy thinking about what a love-filled time that will be. Not to mention wedding planning, bridal showers, and a bachelorette party for my favorite big seester will keep me plenty busy and focused on positivity. Bring on the wedding planning (if I suddenly go missing, check the rabbit hole that is Pinterest first)!

Exactly one week after the proposal, my parents retired. They sold their restaurant on June 1st after almost eight years of running it flawlessly together. My dad bravely stepped out of corporate world after 25 years of being overworked and undervalued. And my mom bravely joined him on the big adventure and quest to be their own bosses. They packed up the home I grew up in, moved back to the college town where they fell in love, and started what would become one of downtown Lansing's most successful restaurants. To say I am proud of them would be an huge understatement. They have put their heart and soul into providing not just delicious food, but warm, genuine customer service too. I know their regular customers will miss their welcoming smiles, but I know two grand babies who are thrilled that Papa and Grandma Sue's schedule is about to include many more Colorado visits. They are already westward bound to see us this Thursday. Too much to ask that the new owner still honor my free meals when we visit Michigan? Mom and Dad, job well done and we love you. You are an inspiration to all of us. On to the next chapter! 

December 4, 2010 & June 1, 2018

We are in full blown dance recital prep mode over here. An abundance of recital pictures and videos is surely coming next Save it for Sunday. We had picture day this week followed by a celebratory ice cream date with our best dance buddies. I think there is something about Michiganders that just naturally draws us to one another. Finding a fellow midwest mom and military spouse is like hitting the jackpot. Ashley and I have grown in friendship since the first day of class, and our weekly park or play dates are certainly a highlight for all of us now. Eloise and Addi are two peas in the cutest pod, and I bet Harvey and Emmy are soon to follow suit. Cannot wait to see the big girls on the big stage this Saturday.

The Small Moments

The stomach bug that took Eloise down for Mother's Day lingered into the beginning of the week. Having sick babies is such a helpless feeling, but I can't complain because I got so many snuggles. She sat with her head on my chest, holding my hand for an entire movie. Those of you with an always-in-motion threenager know how rare of a treat that is. I didn't hate a single minute of it.

Eloise calls the living room floor her carpet pool. Troublesome when she tries to dive into the carpet pool from the couch. Adorable when she says, "Harvey, let's go swimming in the carpet pool!" Eloise laid down and gracefully pretended to swim. Harvey flopped down right next to her on his belly, flailed his arms and legs rapidly, and laughed hysterically. I might have cried it was so cute.

My transformation of our concrete slab into a patio oasis is nearly complete. The past two weeks I added a storage bench for outdoor kid toys and extra seating, lots of color via flower boxes, hanging plants, and potted plants, my beloved hummingbird feeder, string lights overhead, and a glorious swingasan chair from Pier 1. You may not know exactly what a swingasan chair is, but know that you need one in your life. Brad calls it my egg chair. I knew from the moment we first laid eyes on it that our mountain view deserved the comfiest seating for soaking it in. My favorite egg chair moment so far was cuddling up in it with a blanket under the covered portion of our patio during a big thunderstorm. The coziest! Even Lola loves to sit out there with me and watch the sun go down behind the mountains now.

The Ways We Grew

Consider the toddler slide conquered by Harvey P! He can now climb up and slide down his little slide all by himself. The transition at the top of the ladder getting his feet out from under him without falling backwards nearly gives me a heart attack every time, but he always gets it. I love seeing his goofy grin as he comes sliding down. And I love that he'll climb it 62 times in a row leading into a solid four hour nap time.

Eloise has become the ultimate deal maker. I read somewhere that the best way to handle the big emotions of a strong willed little lady such as ours is to make clear deals with her. For example, "We can't stop hiking right now, but on our way back down the mountain we can explore that little cave. Deal?" And yes we did try to sneak past the little cave without her noticing. No it did not work. In all seriousness, it is super important to try to follow through on the promises 100%. Once they build that trust, the deal making works like a charm. I just used this method today when she nearly melted down over something so little as taking our lunch to go instead of eating it at the restaurant. "We have to take our food home to eat, but I will let you give Ruby a treat when we get there. Deal?" Using one of her favorite things to do as the deal incentive gives her something to look forward to and takes her mind off of the Earth shattering disappointment she feels in that moment. I have seen a noticeable decrease in the number of tantrums thrown in public places lately, and I am really proud of the progress we've made working on it together. She is exactly like me. When her expectations for how things should go are not met, she gets flustered. This age is a tough one, and I am sending solidarity to anyone reading this who can relate. The trouble is she has started to use my own methods against me. "If I poop right now since we're in a big hurry, you'll give me three M&M's instead of one. Deal?"

This week Harvey has been using two word phrases, favorites being "hi, papa" and "all done". He also will respond to questions by nodding yes or shaking his head no and says "woof woof" when you ask him what the doggie says. All speech is usually followed by his famous scrunched up nose smile. I am thinking perhaps his rapidly expanding vocabulary may have something to do with the fact that his big sister has to ask the same question six times at a minimum and never, ever stops talking.

The Eloise-isms

"Uncle Preston. I can't see around your hair." -- Riding in the hiking backpack Preston so graciously carried so I could hike kid free.

"Mommy, clean my messy old face." Later that day: "Mommy, Ruby has messy old paws."

"I can save my milk in the 'frigidator' if you like?" -- Some words I hope she never figures out how to say the right way.

"Thank you for building my new school, mighty dads!" -- Watching the construction in the field behind our neighborhood. She calls all construction equipment mighty dads because of a cute book we have. And yes, her school for kindergarten until our next move will be brand new and within walking distance. Dream come true!

"Should we get out some cars to play with?" --Me
"No. Not today. Today I am reading. But thank you." --E


In other noteworthy news, here is what I am watching and reading these days to replace the newsfeed scroll. I am newly and completely addicted to The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu (thank you, Aura). There has been some hardcore binging going on over here. So dark and difficult to watch at times, but so thought provoking. And I am already about halfway through "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty (thank you, Kristin). I love good TV/movie/book recommendations, so send them my way please.

Happy first full week of June and end of the school year to my teacher pals. Summer is here!